Happy 89th Birthday Grandmother!

Yesterday a very special lady in my life turned 89!! This is my grandmother (my mom's mother). So mid morning I went over to the hospital and hung a birthday sign, pinned a ribbon her her that said "It's My Birthday!" and took her a big bouquet of flowers since I gave my only birthday present idea away to my brother & sister-in-law. That's fine though--she is definitely a flower lover and they were definitely a hit! I think pretty much by 89 you have everything you want or need and like to make birthday's and Christmas hard on those of us who do the shopping. So instead of buying something that she was just going to put in the closet and in a few years we would find out that she never opened it, a dust catcher that we would have to find a place for amongst all of the other dust collectors in her house or pants that she never tried on and 6 months later asks you to return them because they don't fit, I bought something that will brighten her day, her hospital room and when they die we don't have to find a place for them. Yes this is coming from the girl who doesn't like to receive flowers because I would much rather the money be spent on something that will last. So do share if you have any ideas for Christmas because I'm all out!!

Wednesday evening I made her a cake...her favorite...Strawberry! I iced it with homemade Strawberry Cream Cheese Butter cream....YUM! I had bought plates and napkins to take up to the hospital and I knew they were in primary colors so I started decorating the cake. It turned out ok, although it kinda looked like a clown or maybe a rainbow mess but I guess that is what you get if you don't have an idea of how to decorate it before you get started. Isabella left her signature mark on top of the cake....a hand print. She left it in the white icing so I thought that it would be cute to make it colorful and well...it kinda looks like one of those turkey finger painting projects we did in grade school.

Thursday afternoon, Isabella and I headed to the hospital to hang out with grandmother for a few hours, have cake with her and take her the many cards and gifts she received in the mail. She was pleasantly surprised. Yesterday was a really good day for her. She has been in the hospital a little over a month and yesterday was the first day that she got up and got dressed. It was the first time I have seen her actually look like she was full of life. She looked beautiful. We had a surprise early visit from Alan which was good. The extra time with him is always welcomed with open arms. Later that evening when leaving the hospital my grandmother let us know that she had a wonderful, unexpected, very special birthday from all! Thank you to everyone who helped brighten her day yesterday!! I definitely left the hospital last night with a smile on my face. It thrills me to know that she if feeling better and is returning to herself. Hopefully she will be back home soon!

Upon returning home, Brandee & Ricky came out for a night of Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Santa Fe Soup and leftover birthday cake! They both brought the little toot Halloween goodies that she was so thrilled over. They sure know the way to her heart...Dora books, stickers, and PeZ dispenser (she calls this "gum"). She spent the rest of the evening Trick or Treating around the house. I think she has the hang of it this year...we shall see. She's going to be the cutest flower in town!

**Yesterday was also another very special little girl's (that we don't get to see anymore but think of often) 2nd birthday. We hope that Crosby Miller had a wonderful day and also has an amazing party on the 14th of November. And today my favorite lil "nephew" turned 2...Kaegan Scott Hamilton....my how time flies - Happy Birthday Sweet Little Boy!**

Put A Face On It

Today Isabella and PaPa put faces on her pumpkin. She had a BLAST!! She is absolutely in love with her pumpkins. She will tell you all about them....she has a mommy, daddy and THREE baby pumpkins. She loves to set them by her, feed them, tuck them in bed, push them around in the doll stroller and give them lots of love. Absolutely crazy but adorable all at the same time!! Here are a few of her and Papa's creations...

**Also today is a very special young lady's birthday and I'd like to send special birthday wishes out to Camree Miller even though I don't get to see her anymore!! I hope that she had a wonderful birthday and has an amazing party on the 7th**

Weight Watchers Wednesday: Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

Haha, had this ready to post Monday night for Wednesday and I guess I just totally forgot until I got on here to make a few other posts....so here it goes again...another mass posting from the Nicholas's!! I guess this can be used as inspiration to eat healthy over the Halloween weekend instead of all of the high calorie treats that you or your kiddos might be getting over the weekend.

Today's recipe is one our family & friend's favorites and OHHHHH so EASY!!! I can actually say this is my recipe!! I LOVE Sloppy Joe's so I played around with a few ingredients several years ago and this is what I have come up with!!

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (I used 93/7 - I'm sure you could use ground turkey if you prefer)

1 small onion, chopped (I used a yellow one)

1 bell pepper, chopped (I used a yellow one)

1 small jalapeno

2 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 cup Ketchup

2 beef bouillon cubes, crushed

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon Splenda Brown Sugar Blend

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon season salt

Put jalapeno, garlic cloves, onion, bell pepper and ground beef in a skillet and brown the meat, either cook the fat out or discard excess fat in pan. Combine ALL ingredients in crock pot, stirring well. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours or on high 2-4 hours. Serve over warmed burger buns or noodles.

Serves 6 one cup servings

WW pts: 5 for just the Sloppy Joe - the bun or noodles will add points depending on your selection.

I was so excited about eating it and so hungry I forgot to take a final picture. OOPS!! We have served these Sloppy Joe's both ways and they are both equally DELICIOUS!

**For the sandwich - I generally buy the 4 pt Sara Lee Wheat Buns & for the noodles - Tonight we had noodles...I used Ronzoni Smart Taste Extra Wide Noodles for 3 pts a serving.

Hammering Saturday Out of my Mind

If you know me, you know I am a Texas Tech Alumni & huge Red Raider fan and if you don't, you do now. So that should about sum up my weekend...quite disappointing. Some of you may have listened to the game, however; that just does not do the massacre justice. A&M deserved to win, they played an awesome game. The end result of a loss for Tech was due to poor coaching (offense & defense) and waiting approx. 30 mins too late to make a QB change. If you are a Potts fan, I'm sorry, take up for him if you wish, someone has to but if you were at the game, I'd almost promise you that you would be singing a different tune. Most Potts defenders didn't see his performance but only speak of what they heard or read. It's extremely disappointing to see a streak end when you have seen EVERY A&M game in Lubbock since you started college and the end result was a WIN -- that streak even starts as far back as 1993! Enough rant for now, this is a new week, a new team in town, **hopefully a new starting QB** and I'm still a huge Texas Tech Red Raider fan! Get Your Guns Up! All of that said, I don't have many pictures from the game but here are a few of the good company I was surrounded by.

This is Isabella still up at 1:30 AM when we got in from the game and eating--she was wired, not sure what Papa fed her but he didn't stick around to help get her down!! Thanks for watching her Dad!

So things had to get better....Sunday we headed to Lubbock for my "nephew's" Handy Manny 2nd Birthday Party! McDonald's turned out to be a HORRIBLE place to have a birthday party, they definitely know how to suck the FUN out of a party. All in all I think Kaegan had a wonderful birthday and the kiddos all had a really good time, which is what really matters. Here are a few pictures from the party.

After the party and a few errands, Brandee and Ricky came out to the house to visit, I made Homemade Chicken Pot Pies and we watched New In Town--good movie!!

We have a pretty laxed but busy week ahead of us, I hope to accomplish some things around the house and get things checked off my to do list. Hope everyone has an awesome week and enjoys the fall weather.

Handcrafted Jewelry by Tiffany Purdue

Who is Tiffany?? Tiffany is a stay at home mom to a handsome little boy!! Tiffany's husband and Alan were classmates during law school and became friends. I had the privilege to hang out with Tiffany and Keith several times before they moved to the DFW area and really enjoyed being around them. Tiffany has a passion for art and enjoys making handcrafted jewelry. She has recently started an Etsy store and I wanted to share her beautiful designs as I'm a big FAN of Tiffany Purdue Designs - Handcrafted Jewelry.

The fact that she is doing something she loves and has the courage to start an Etsy store and see what happens gives me encouragement and inspiration to making my way to starting an Etsy store with my own creations. If you've been on this path of possibility, know that you too can take the step. Congrats Tiffany on getting your Etsy store started. I wish you the best!!

"If you can imagine it you can create it. If you can dream it, you can become it."

Weight Watchers Wednesday: Caramel Pumpkin Pudding Cupcakes

Today's blog is inspired from a good friend of mine (Cassie), while she was making her AMAZING Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (as soon as I get the recipe I shall share), she asked about my pumpkin cupcakes that I had talked about previously and I haven't made them yet, so I decided to go ahead and make them tonight. They are DELICIOUS!! This is a recipe out of the Hungry Girl - Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World Cookbook.

This is the original recipe, of course you know I had to add my own twists to it.

Caramel Pumpkin Pudding Cupcakes

For cupcakes:
2 cups moist-style yellow cake mix (1/2 of an 18.25-ounce box)
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/3 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
2 tablespoons sugar-free maple syrup
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons Splenda no Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water

For topping:
3 cubes (about 1 ounce) chewy caramel
2 teaspoons light vanilla soy milk

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine all cupcake ingredients in a mixing bowl. Whip with a whisk or fork for 2 minutes until well blended.
• Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with baking cups. Evenly spoon batter into muffin cups. Place pan in the oven and cook for about 12 minutes (until cupcakes have puffed up but still appear a little gooey on top).
• Once cupcakes are cook enough to handle, arrange them closely on a place so that the edges are touching.
• Place caramel and soy milk in a tall microwaveable-safe glass or dish (mixture will bubble and rise when heated.) Microwave at medium power for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir mixture vigorously until smooth and thoroughly blended. (return to microwave for 30 seconds at medium heat if caramel has not fully melted.) Immediately drizzle caramel sauce over cupcakes.

Makes 12 servings
WW points: 2
Per serving (1 cupcake): 108 calories, 2 g fat, 188mg sodium, 21g carbs,
.5 g fiber, 12 g sugars, 2 g protein

My twists to these delectable desserts!


-I doubled the recipe so i didn't have to waste or store the extra cake mix.

-Here is my recipe to the cupcakes:
1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix
1 can of Libby's 100 % Pure Pumpkin
2/3 cup Egg Beaters Original
4 tsp cinnamon
4 tablespoons Cary's Sugar Free Maple Syrup
4 tsp Splenda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 cup water

-I followed all directions EXCEPT the last one about the icing.
-My Icing:
1 box Philadelphia Fat Free Cream Cheese
1 tsp fat free milk
1 tbsp powdered sugar
1/4 cup Hershey's Classic Caramels Sundae Syrup Fat Free Caramel

• Placed all four ingredients in the microwave safe bowl and microwave 30 seconds at a time stopping to stir until well mixed and mixture is a smooth consistency.
• Spoon out on top of warm cupcakes -- you must work quickly as the icing hardens quickly and gently top them because the cupcake tops are very fragile as they are pudding consistency.
• I then sprinkled cinnamon on top of each cupcake

Makes 18 cupcakes
WW points: 3

**So mine aren't as pretty as the Hungry Girl photo but they sure are TASTY!!**

A Much Needed Playdate!

Kyla and I haven't been able to get together in the past few weeks so yesterday we were finally able to get the kiddos together to play. I believe it was much needed for all 4 of us and we all had a really good time! I figured you all were pretty tired of the same ol' playground pics so we decided to try and take them to the Pumpkin Patch at Cumberland Presbyterian in Lubbock and get a few cute ones. Isabella didn't want to smile and Kaegan was ready to take a nap and wanted his Momma! Despite this, here are a few pictures I captured of our lil' punkins!

Weight Watchers Wednesday: Grilled Chicken Peach Pitas

For some reason I just can't get back into the routine of Weight Watchers. Over the summer I fell off the wagon and ever since I have trotted along beside it but have never fully got back on. I use the next week excuse ALOT!! I'm lacking motivation. I lost 2 lbs little over a week ago and a loss should be motivation, but not for me, I didn't go to the meeting this week because I didn't want to go alone (YET, ANOTHER EXCUSE)! The things I use to eat on a daily basis just don't sound good anymore. And I can't seem to get into the routine! So tomorrow is a new day and is the day for a change. I got a pretty, new, colorful aluminum bottle while in Houston so I will use the cheerful bright colors to help motivate me to drink 100 oz of liquid tomorrow and for the rest of the week!! Starting tomorrow, I will exercise at least twice this week. I will eat all of my points, not one less and not one more and track every bite online. I WILL attend my meeting on Saturday no matter the weather, the company I do or don't have walking in that door or what might be going on that I think is more important because NOTHING is more important than my health and be being around for my daughter, any future kids, future grandkids and if I'm lucky enough great-grandkids.

So if you see me, it's ok to ask how the diet is going, if I have accomplished all I said I would here today. I don't need compliments on what I have succeeded, I need motivation and encouragement to help me get back on that wagon and get this weight off so I can be a more active, healthy, happy and a beautiful (inside & out) individual!! I want to know what skinny feels like and looks like on me and I know I can do it!!

My goal from today - 50 lbs by May!! That's not my ultimate goal but lets make it there first and i will really feel accomplished to take the trek to the finish line!!!!


So with all that said here is today's recipe for success - this was taken from Weight Watchers eTools (modified just a tad as I do with most recipes depending on what is in my cabinet and fridge):

Grilled Chicken Peach Pita

1 tsp EVOO
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/8 tsp table salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
3/4 cup Minute Maid Light Orange Juice beverage
2 Tbsp Simply Fruit Apricot Spreadable Fruit
3 medium peaches sliced
8 Kangaroo Whole Wheat Pita Pockets
4 green onions chopped

In a shallow bowl, mix the OJ, preserves, oil, garlic, salt and pepper; set aside 1/4 cup of the marinade for basting. Add the chicken and peaches; refrigerate, covered at least 2 hours (The long it sets the more marinated it gets, as with most things).

Preheat Broiler; spray cookie sheet (this can be done on the rack but I think it makes a bigger mess) with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the chicken and peaches to the sheet or rack. Broil 6 inches from heat until cooked through and peaches being to brown, basting with reserved marinade, 7-8 minutes on each side. cool slightly; cut chicken into slices.

Spoon chicken and peaches down the center of each pita pocket and top with chopped green onions.

Servings: 4 (2 Pita Pockets)
WW points: 7

I served this with couscous and grilled veggies.

Special Rainbow Smiles

Today as we were headed to the car to go visit Grandmother in Tahoka at the hospital, Isabella spotted a rainbow in the distance. She was so excited she exclaimed, "Mommy look - rainbow", and repeated as she jumped up and down and pointed. She then said, "Let's go slide on it, PLEASE!", followed by, "It's broken - Mommy fix it!" She was so cute and so serious!! This is just one of many moments that I cherish with her. She definitely knows how to put a smile on my face!

Thank you everyone for your prayers, although still in the hospital, my grandmother is doing better. Isabella and I go visit her for an hour or two on a daily basis. Last week when I talked to the nurse I was told that they didn't know if she would ever be where she could go home and this week she is eating good, doing all of her walking and seems to actually act like she wants to come home. Here are a few cherished moments between Isabella and her Great-Grandmother - they love each other dearly!